When most of us think of a Hollywood agent, the image of Entourage‘s Ari Gold comes to mind. A fast-talking, smarmy, foul mouthed big shot. Warren Klein was not that. Once named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine (in 1986) Klein was a huge Hollywood agent who represented many of the big stars of the Eighties: C. Thomas Howell, Jami Gertz, Kirk Cameron, etc. A Funny or Die user has uncovered some of his voicemails and not only do they paint a picture of a very, very different time in Hollywood – the kind of time when $35,000 was a huge pay out and back end on Betamax was a contract perk – but the name-dropping, tech-talk and incredible lack of foresight will make your day. Read More »

Last summer’s surprise hit was a film called Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron. Championed by church groups for the story’s Christian values/message, the film was produced for next to nothing and featured a supporting cast made up of volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, most of whom had no prior acting experience. As you may expect, the resulting film has a lot of unintentionally funny moments, and Video Home System has compiled the funniest scenes into one 5-minute video. Watch it after the jump.Read More »

The big surprise this weekend at the box office was a small budget ($500,000) limited release called Fireproof, which made over $6.5 million on only 839 screens. The film beat Spike Lee’s latest – Miracle at St. Anna! So how evangelical actor Kirk Cameron‘s firefighter faith-based film become the year’s second highest grossing opening weekend released on lass than 1,000 screens (Hannah Montana’s 3D concert film is #1).

Provident Films’ grassroots marketing and outreach targeted churches, and organizations like American Family Association and Focus on the Family. Nikki Finke reports that “Faith-based “Action Squads” bought up blocks of tickets.” The film sold out a lot of screenings over the weekend, making a reported $7,764 per theatre (Steve Mason). Fireproof is the latest film from Sherwood Pictures, a nonprofit ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia, that previously released 2006’s Facing the Giants ($10.17 million at the box office). Now that Sherwood Pictures has proved the Christian-themed film to be a profitable endeavor, I would expect Hollywood to jump on the bandwagon.

MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer was once quoted as saying “If you want to send a message, send a telegram.” If you ask me, the worst kind of movies are message films. You can’t get more cliche or formulaic than an after school special. And even if Fireproof attempted to focus more on story than your typical after school special, it is still a message film at its core.

If you want to see real entertainment, watch this video of “An Atheists Worst Nightmare” with Kirk Cameron trying to prove the existence of God using a banana.

UPDATE: Someone was using my name in the comments below last night and starting, yes, drama. We’ve deleted the comments in question. This has occurred more than once on Slashfilm recently. We’re looking into it. For the record, yes, Slashfilm thinks this movie is a total pile. And I don’t hate all of our readers, c’mon.

UPDATE 2: FirstShowing’s Alex Billington has given Fireproof‘s trailer a heart-felt endorsement. We are speechless (as in, I’m never talking to Alex again).

Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains, VH1) stars in the Oscar-buzzing romantic drama, Fireproof. This stirring film is being poignantly described as, “Back Draft sucks face with the Left Behindfranchise,” by Slashfilm.com. Opening in Earth’s theaters this September, Cameron stars as a “heroic” firefighter whose marriage is ebbing divorce. When his father gifts him a self-help book for romance entitled The Love Dare, Cameron willingly accepts, only to discover that the book’s 40-day plan is instilled with his father’s reborn faith. Choice line: “Marriages aren’t fireproof Michael, sometimes you get burned!” Choice scene: 1:55. Choice movie website/viral marketing/music selection: FireproofMyMarriage.com.